Universal Jobmatch

A new service will give access to job opportunities

In late autumn 2012, DWP will launch Universal Jobmatch, a new online job posting and matching service. This new, streamlined service aims to become one of the largest job websites in the UK and will be available to everyone.

New technology will help speed-up the recruitment process for both employers and jobseekers, by automatically matching jobseekers’ skills in their CVs to employers’ jobs.

Employers will be able to:

• Self-serve and post their jobs online anytime.
• Receive a list of suitable jobseekers for the jobs they are advertising.
• Invite jobseekers to apply for their jobs online.

Jobseekers will be able to:

• Look for jobs anytime, anywhere, using a PC or smartphone.
• Create a CV that attracts employers.
• Be automatically matched to suitable jobs.

Jobcentre Plus advisers will provide support to benefit claimants to help improve their CVs, to help them better represent their skills and ensure good matches with jobs, so they can compete effectively.

DWP aims to provide an intuitive, engaging and easy to use service to increase the number of users and jobs posted.

The new service is available in both English and Welsh.

Employers will access Universal Jobmatch via Business Link, Business Gateway or Business Wales.

Renewable Heat Premium Payment

The £8 million Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) Community Scheme has been launched by DECC. It will support communities to deliver clusters of domestic renewable heating systems such as air and ground source heat pumps, solar hot water panels and biomass systems.

Applications opened July 24th and will run until September 7th.

The RHPP community scheme aims to provide communities with the opportunity to cost-effectively organise local buying groups for renewable heating systems, potentially accessing bulk discounts and facilitating easier deployment for installers. The scheme is targeted at off gas areas.

The Renew Wales programme, funded by BIG, is able to provide some free mentoring support to groups in Wales who wish to apply – please contact Robert Proctor, Project Director on robertproctor@renewwales.org.uk.

Further information regarding RHPP can be found on this link - http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generate-your-own-energy/Financial-incentives/Renewable-Heat-Premium-Payment-Phase-2#communitycompetition

Modern Jive Beginners Course

Always wanted to be able to dance? You can learn to dance modern jive and feel confident on the dance floor in just 6 weeks.

Introducing DanceAbility - an exciting new project that aims to provide access to a fun form of exercise in the community that builds confidence, self-esteem, supports health and encourages social inclusion.

Acces3Ability Ltd will be running a 12 hour course of dance tuition in Modern Jive in a small, relaxed group over 6 two hour lessons on Sunday afternoons.

The usual cost of the course is £60 per person but 6 places will be offered free to members of Patchwork Shares Timebank in exchange for 12 time-credits.

It is anticipated that as a result of the project you will:

• have increased confidence
• be physically fitter
• have developed new social networks
• have learned a new skill that presents you with opportunities to engage in an activity that is meaningful and structured.

Eligibility criteria: (all must apply)

• Live or work in the North Wales Coastal Regeneration Area
• Member of Patchwork Shares Timebank
• Be either
• Unemployed
• Retired
• Carer
• Single Parent
• Mental health service user
• Suffering from a chronic disease

Meeting the eligibility criteria is not a guarantee of a time-credit place. We will assess each application on its merit taking into account the ability of the applicant to take part in moderate exercise and their willingness to attend all 6 of the weekly lessons. We will operate a gender balancing policy, closing bookings for single ladies or men when the maximum number of either has been reached. Modern Jive is a partner dance but you don’t have to bring a partner as, unlike ballroom, it is etiquette to rotate partners.

Course Dates:

• Sunday 16th/23rd/30th September
• Sunday 14th/21st/28th October

Time:

• 1.30 pm -3.30 pm

Venue:

• Tynewydd Community Centre, Rhyl Coast Rd, Rhyl, LL18 3RD

To book a place or for more information, please contact:

Colette Neal

7 Nant y Glyn Rd, Colwyn Bay. LL29 7PU

Email: coletteneal@acces3ability.co.uk

Tel: 07955 652055

Closing date for bookings 9th September 2012

All Wales People First - Vacancy

All Wales People First is an organisation that unites self advocacy groups and people with a learning disability right across Wales to achieve equal rights and a positive image.

We are looking to appoint a person with a learning disability as National Director to represent the voice of people with learning disabilities for Wales, and to champion their place in a changing Wales.

The salary will be £10,658 per year for 2 days a week. The Director will have a mentor for the first 9 months in post. After 9 months in post the salary will rise to £16,231 per year for 3 days a week.

The Director’s office will be at home but the job will mean travelling to all areas of Wales.

For more information and an application pack please phone Yvonne Boxall on 07971 236426.

Or you can email on - info@allwalespeople1st.co.uk

The closing date for applications is 13th August 2012

A two day Interview has been provisionally booked for 10th and 11^th September 2012.

The Foryd Centre Community Café & Resource Centre

West Rhyl First and the Bedford Street Community Company cordially invite you to the launch of its new ‘Foodworx’ project based in the heart of West Rhyl.

To find out more details about the Food Bank and other services available at the Foryd Centre, please come along on Friday 20th July, 11am to 1pm at The Foryd Centre, Princes Street, Rhyl.

For any further information please contact Fiona Davies on 01745 339779.

Welsh Government School Uniform Grant Scheme 2012/13

Pupils entering Year 7 of maintained secondary schools in Wales in the 2012/13 school year who are eligible for free school meals will be eligible for the school uniform grant; as will pupils in special schools, special needs resource bases and pupil referral units in Wales who are aged 11 at the start of the 2012/13 school year and who are eligible for free school meals.

More information can be found on the Welsh Government website:

http://wales.gov.uk/topics/educationandskills/schoolshome/parents/uniform/?skip=1&lang=en

Holidays Rock in Denbigh 2012

•  Are you interested in taking part in a range of music workshops?
• Qualifications are available!
• Sessions will run over the Summer Holidays 10am - 4pm.

At Holidays Rock we can offer you taster courses in:

• DJ Skills using vinyl turntables/Introduction to Hip Hop
• Recording Studio Workshop
• Music with Computers and Create your own music CD
• Create Music and sound effects for Movies & Computer games

For further information, to check you are eligible, or to book your place call 01745 812812

CYMRU PRIDE WALES presents the first ever...

NORTH WALES PRIDE 2012

5th/6th/7th October at Hendre Hall, Bangor

• Camping
• Music
• Stalls
• Local foods
• Fun and entertainment for all

Celebrate the end of Summer and join North Wales Pride, embracing diversity through fun, friendship and music.

For tickets and event info please visit www.northwalespride.com

Mind-Body-Spirit - Kids Fun Club

Sunday 1^st July at Sunny Vale Caravan Camp

10am - 5pm.

FREE ADMISSION

Lots of children’s activities.

Food and drink available all day.

3pm - Children’s Variety Show

5pm - Medley of mediums show (£3 admission on door)

For more information please contact Tracey on 07436 269452

Children with Disabilities Drop-in Surgery

Held at The Oaktree Centre, Rhyl in the Beech Room.

Social Workers will be available to give advice and sign-post to other services on the following dates:

• Mon 11th June, 9AM – 12PM
• Mon 2nd July, 9AM – 12PM (Focus on Direct Payments)
• Mon 6th August, 9AM – 12PM
• Mon 10th September, 9AM – 12PM (Focus on Transition)
• Mon 8th October, 9AM – 12PM
• Mon 5th November, 9AM – 12PM

For further information please contact Louise Gillen (Practice Leader for Children with Additional Needs) on 01824 712900.

5 week Practical Conservation & Horticulture Course

Please find below dates for FREE environmental courses for unemployed women and single parents living in Denbighshire. 

Coed y Morfa Allotment, Prestatyn. Tuesdays - 29th May - 19th June. 10am - 2pm.

This course covers basics of food growing, how to maintain an allotment, use of composting, encouraging wildlife, nurturing plants, and use of crops once ready.

Eagles Hotel Community Garden, Corwen. Wednesdays - 16th May - 13th June. 10am - 2pm.

This course involves a mixture of practical conservation tasks - resurfacing footpaths, repairing beds and composters, creating wildlife areas, strimming - and horticulture tasks - clearing beds, preparing soil, composting, planting and nurturing, use of crops.

Courses are open to anyone who is unemployed (or works less than 16 hours a week) and lives in Denbighshire - as long as they are not on Work Programme.

5 week Environmental Art Course

Bodelwyddan Castle. Thursdays - 24th May - 21st June. 10am - 2pm.

This course will cover use of colour in camouflage, willow sculptures large and small, felt making, print making and natural musical instruments.

Mountwood Community Woodland, Denbigh. Fridays - 25th May - 22nd June. 10am - 2pm.

This course will cover willow sculptures, use of natural materials in painting, felt making, print making and natural musical instruments.

For more information call Alex on 07740 899540 or email a.fairclough@tcv.org.uk

All Ears - Free Counselling in Rhyl

Everyone experiences difficulties at some point in their lives, and it can be helpful to talk things through with someone who will listen and never judge you.

All Ears is based at The Hub in Rhyl and is supported by RYAG (Rhyl Youth Action Group) and Coleg Harlech.

They offer free, confidential counselling and emotional support for young people (aged 16-25).

You can make an appointment by:

• Popping into The Hub on Wellington Road, Rhyl.
• E-mailing - carl@aecs.org.uk.
• Texting Wynne Randles at RYAG on 07800 638564.
• Phoning the RYAG Office on 01745 334500.

For more information please visit their website - http://www.aecs.org.uk/

A new housing support service for older people

Denbighshire County Council Housing Services has launched a housing support service for people over 60 (or are younger but have disabilities) which is aimed at keeping residents who live in the County to stay independent in their own homes.

The service is similar to the hugely popular warden service council tenants receive in sheltered housing schemes all around Denbighshire. So, if you or someone you know can answer yes to any of the following questions then this service could be for you.

• Is this the first time you have lived alone?
• Are you lonely and need help to meet new people?
• Are you concerned about your lifestyle?
• Is your home becoming to much for you to manage
• Would it help to receive advice and assistance with benefits, budgeting or debts?
• Do you need advice or support in managing and maintaining your home?
• Do you need help and advice from other agencies but don’t know where to start?

Denbighshire has large numbers of older people, many of whom live alone. The Council’s ‘lifeline’ alarm already supplies reassurance to many and this service is available to provide that little bit of extra support to keep older people living independently in the community.

For further details contact the Housing Support Team on 01824 712939,
or by email on housing@denbighshire.gov.uk.

Or write to:
Denbighshire Housing Services,
64 Brighton Road,
Rhyl,
Denbighshire,
LL18 3HN.

Press release from BT regarding G2G Communities CIC

The Office for National Statistics announced that unemployment figures in the UK are at their highest in 17 years. This is evident in Rhyl in Wales, which was named the ‘unemployment capital of Wales’ by the Daily Post in 2011 . The issue of mass unemployment in Rhyl is being directly addressed by community organisation, G2G Communities. G2G is attempting to tackle unemployment by offering tailored ICT training to help get individuals back into jobs or even to start their own businesses.

Moira-Ann Lockitt at G2G, who appreciates employer expectations of prospective employees, said: “Nearly all employers require employees to have computer skills so ICT is high on our agenda for helping people back into employment.” This identification of the importance of computer and internet skills to job seekers led G2G to create an IT and computer training course which helps people obtain the necessary skills to help them find employment.

G2G runs IT classes and teaches everything from CV writing and basic internet skills to more advanced web-hosting and social media networking. One new, unemployed learner commented: “I first came to a training session as I knew nothing about computer skills but knew they would help me get back into employment. I have already learnt so many new skills, which I am sure have enhanced my job prospects.” A trainee getting help with a new business start-up said: “I feel much more confident on the computer after 5 lessons at G2G. I am starting my own one-to-one dog training business and feel the skills that I am learning will help me immensely especially with setting up finance systems.”

G2G received a BT Community Connections award of one years’ free broadband which allows it to continue its work. The local community in Rhyl has subsequently benefited as G2G has helped to get many local residents, addressing their skills shortages which may be preventing them from finding work.

Throughout 2011, seventy six new users were introduced to the internet for the first time, 117 people attended four or more training sessions, 56 people now use the internet regularly and 20 have installed internet at their own homes.

In return for monthly feedback and reports updating BT of its progress over the year, G2G has been chosen as the overall BT community Connections Plus winner and has received £2,000 to continue its fantastic ICT work.

The money will be used to purchase more laptops so that it can go out into the rural areas to engage with more learners and carry on addressing unemployment in Wales.

Cheap computers for home users!

The ‘Get online @ Home’ initiative has a number of partners which includes Computer Recycles, Partners IT and Microsoft, all of whom are working together to provide recycled, cost effective IT equipment to enable people to get online.

Desktop Computer:

£149 - Available to anyone.

£99 - Available to people receiving certain benefits and to charities.

Laptop Computer:

£199 - Available to anyone.

£169 - Available to people receiving certain benefits and to charities,

 

You must receive one of these benefits to qualify for the cheaper price:

• Housing Benefit

• Income Support

• Jobseeker's allowance

• Pension credit

• Disability Living Allowance

• Attendance Allowance/Constant Attendance Allowance

• Incapacity Benefit/Employment and Support Allowance

• Disability element of Working Tax Credit

For more information please visit: http://www.getonlineathome.org/

NEA Cymru Fuel Debt Bulletin

As more and more households (it is estimated that 400,000 households in Wales are in fuel poverty) feel the impact of increasing fuel prices over the last few years and experiencing the effects of the austerity measures, public spending cuts and welfare reform, the provision of good quality in-depth fuel debt advice is more in need than ever.

From NEA’s previous work into fuel debt advice, it has been identified that there is often no support network available for frontline advisors dealing specifically with fuel debt.  This can leave advisors, who are dealing with very complex, emotive issues, feeling isolated and uninformed. 

NEA’s quarterly bulletin will cover the latest news, information and issues that affect the provision of fuel debt advice nationally and Wales.

To view the Fuel Debt Bulletin please click here.

Autism - A guide for parents and carers following diagnosis

ASD Info Wales has been developed to support professionals working with individuals with ASD, their family and carers in Wales.

The link below contains resources that may be downloaded for professionals to share with individuals with ASD, their families and carers.

ASD Info Wales - Resourses

Denbighshire Council offers advice on welfare reforms

Denbighshire Council is having an open day at Rhyl Town Hall on Friday 27^th April from 10am to 4pm, with an emphasis for people to receive information about the Benefit Changes and how they may affect them. There are changes to most benefits from Working/Child Tax Credit to Income Support and Employment Support Allowance.

 

At the open day there will also be:

• Affordable Housing
• Housing Options
• Housing Allocations
• Sheltered Housing
• Housing Benefit
• Welfare Rights
• Law a Llaw Re-ablement Service
• New Work Connections (who help people find jobs and training)
• Cefni Lettings (Social lettings agency who will be promoting house sharing)

There is free tea and coffee available to people who call in.

There will also be another Open day in the Market Hall in Denbigh on Tuesday 22nd May 2012 10am to 4pm. The same organizations will be there too.

Chat Away Coffee Club

Has your child been diagnosed, or is being assessed, for Autism or ADHD?  Would you like a place for you and your family to be able to speak to other carers and an opportunity for your child to also meet other children who will not judge him/her?

Then come along to Chat Away Coffee Club’s group meetings, which take place during term-time each Wednesday from 9.30am until 12.00pm at The Margaret Morris Centre, Denbigh and each Friday from 12.30pm until 2.30pm at The Oak Tree Centre, Rhyl.

Our next Arts & Crafts session is on Saturday 12 May 2012 from 10.00am until 12.00pm at The Oak Tree Centre, Rhyl.

Donna James and Claire Williamson are parents of children living with these disabilities and together we run Chat Away Coffee Club.  We provide carers an opportunity to meet and talk to each other; we regularly invite guest speakers to provide professional advice to our carers as well as arranging for our group to attend various seminars/courses.  We also hold monthly Arts & Craft Sessions at The Oak Tree Centre, Rhyl.  Living with Autism does NOT mean you are alone. 

For more information please contact us either via Facebook ‘Chat Away Coffee Club’, Email us at cacc@live.co.uk or telephone: Donna or Claire on 07799 848270.

Fundraising Fun Day 2012

Chat Away Coffee Club are holding their 1^st Fundraising Fun Day and everyone is welcome. The fun will take place on Saturday 5^th  May 2012 from 12.00pm until 4.00pm at The Oak Tree Centre, Ffordd Las, Rhyl.  

There will be a Bouncy Castle, which has been donated by Mega Blast Bouncy Castles, Face Painting, done by Angela Bayliss, Nail Art, by Lenny Richards, hand-made Jewellery, made by Bridgette Hebner, home-made cakes for sale as well as a Table Top Sale.

In addition, during the day John Lynn’s Karate School will be putting on a display, North Wales Fire Service will be bringing a Fire Engine for the children to look at and North Wales Police will be bringing along a Police Car and a finger printing kit for the children to have their fingerprints taken.

Raffle tickets are on sale; tickets are £1.00 each and are available from Chat Away Coffee Club, The Oak Tree Centre or The Margaret Morris Centre, Denbigh.  Prizes include entry into Rhyl Sun Centre for a family of 4, a meal at Pizza Hut for a family of 4, a block of Aqua Zumba Lessons, donated by Lesley Wilde, a 3 course Sunday Lunch for 2 at Faenol Fawr, 2 tickets to see Dancing Queen, donated by The Pavillion Theatre, a spray tan donated by LIME, Gifts Sets, donated by It Makes Sense and many, many more. The Raffle will be drawn at 3.30pm on the 5^th May 2012.

Think FairShare Cymru

FareShare works in partnership with the food industry to source surplus food. This food is distributed to a network of community organisations across the UK (Community Food Members).

If your community group supports homeless, low income or vulnerable people, or if you are providing a non-profit service to the community, then you could become a Community Food Member.

Community Food Members pay a fee to belong to the FareShare network. This fee covers administration costs; the food itself is free. As well as helping provide vulnerable people with quality food, you will save a significant amount of your organisation’s food bill freeing up funds to use for other services.

A few facts & figures:

• FareShare operates in 17 locations in the UK. In North Wales, FareShare is run by Crest Cooperative based in Llandudno serving Conwy, Denbighshire & East Gwynedd.
• 2800 tonnes of food are sourced from the food industry – which is distributed to over 600 organisations helping to make 6,900,000 meals.
• Everyday an average of 29,000 people benefit from the service FareShare provides.
• The redistribution of food minimises food going to landfill and helps businesses reduce C02 emissions.

There are four annual packages available to you from your local FareShare. The most expensive would provide your organisation with food that is worth more than £4500 for the equivalent of £17 a week (£750 + VAT) The most economical package would provide food worth more than £900 for £150 + VAT.

For further Information including how to source funding for membership, contact Jay Martin at Crest Cooperative on 01492 596783 or email jay@crestcooperative.co.uk

www.crestcooperative.co.uk/fighting-food-poverty

IYC Coop'Art Competition

Please find attached a leaflet about an exciting global arts competition, sponsored by The Co-operative Group, to celebrate the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives.

It’s called the IYC Coop’Art Competition and is for young people (aged 16-35). Entries can be video, song or photography and there are some incredible prizes up for grabs.

The ICA are looking forward to receiving lots of entries from the UK.

Please download attached leaflet for more details - Co-Op Express Yourself Competition

The closing date is 31 May 2012.

Wales Coastal Path Clean Up

The Wales Coastal Path will open on 5^th May 2012 and Keep Wales Tidy will be organising a pre-launch clean up over the weekend 27^th - 29^th April. Wales will be the only country in the world where you can walk the entire length of a country’s coastline. This is a great opportunity for Keep Wales Tidy to work with a number of different national agencies together with the public and receive a huge amount of national press coverage and help to ensure the path’s success.

Denbighshire clean up events are planned for April the 27^th meeting at the Marine Lake Car Park, April the 28^th at Barkby Beach Car Par and April the 29^th meeting at the Main Arena Rhyl (near the Sea Life Centre) all at 10am until 1pm.

South West Rhyl Communities First - Awards Ceremony 2012

South West Rhyl Communities First are planning their annual awards ceremony for Friday 27th July, 7pm at Rhyl Rugby Club. Buffet, raffle and prize bingo available on the night.

We are in the process of asking for donations of £40 from local organisations, to make the event more sustainable for the future. With your donation you will be able to present a Communities First trophy to the worthy winner of a chosen category, and you can display any promotional banners from your organisation on the stage. We hope you will support this hugely successful community event.

Awarding categories for 2012:

• Learner of the year - sponsored by G2G
• Volunteer of the year - sponsored by WOTS/ CAIS
• Community Champion - (their input into the community has been beyond expectation)
• Community Group of the year - sponsored by DVSC
• Community Project of the year
• Work achievement of the year (ILM, Gateway, Future Jobs Fund, Work experience)
• Fundraiser of the year
• Outstanding achievement
• New group of the year (less than 12 months old)
• Environmental project of the year
• Health project of the year - sponsored by Easy Living meals on wheels
• Education / training project of the year - sponsor pending
• Albert Holtby memorial plaque (overall winner) - no sponsor needed

Winners from each category will be chosen by an independent judging panel.

Please fill in the nomination form attached and return to lisa.evans@co-op.co.uk

Many thanks for your continued support.

Marine Lake Jubilee Celebration

On June 2nd, 3^rd, 4^th and 5th sees Marine Lake Jubilee Celebrations, a special event to allow the people of Rhyl and District to enjoy the Queens Jubilee together.

10am until 5pm every day will be filled with live entertainment, Steam train rides, Fun of the Fair for children, Circus Skills, Face painting, balloon modelling, lake activities, Food Fair, local crafts. Features already agreed include In Shore Lifeboat, local dance groups, The George Formby Entertainers, Hot Foot Jazz, steam Train Rides, etc.

Each day will have a special theme:

• Saturday 2nd June - RHYL DAY. Celebrating all that is good about Rhyl. Local businesses, societies and organisations telling the public what they do, how they do it and how to get involved. Bring your own publicity, display stands and souvenirs. Free to non commercial organisations. Small fee to commercial concerns.
• Sunday 3rd June. THE BIG LUNCH. A chance for all the communities and societies to come together to enjoy an all day lunch. Part of the National Big Lunch this will be very popular and attract many individuals and groups.
• Monday 4th June. WALK THE LAKE. A day to enjoy a walk around the lake and a chance to make money for your favourite charity. It is hoped that many of the large local charitable organisations will be represented as well as many smaller but very deserving organisations. For example see your local councillor raise money for St Kentigens.
• Tuesday 5th June. FUN DAY. Favourite dog competition, pets on show, Fancy Dress Competitions, a whole variety of events to amuse the children and delight the more mature.

As this is a unique event on this site crowd expectations cannot be guaranteed but this will be the main event in Denbighshire and perhaps even North Wales over this long Bank Holiday Weekend. Fully supported by Rhyl Town Council and Denbighshire County Council.

Big events in Rhyl attract large crowds - for example the Annual Air Show has over 40,000 visitors year on year, so expect a lot of people to see and hear what you have to say.

We are sure you will want to be involved either as an exhibiter of your special skills, or as a group wanting to recruit local people to get involved with you society, or as someone wanting to join in a local community focused celebration.

For more details of how to take part or further information please contact David or Alison on 01745 330668 or 07845927777.

www.coastalentertainments.com

www.marinelakejubilee.com

You’ve still got time to nominate your Wales Volunteer of the Year.

So don’t let that outstanding volunteer or group you know go unrewarded.

There are five categories – adult (25 and over), young person (under 25), green volunteer, trustee and group – and the winners will each receive their awards at a very special ceremony in Cardiff in June.

So nominate someone now. Nominations must be received by 13 April 2012.

For more information, email help@wcva.org.uk or call 0800 2888 329.

Don’t let someone who truly deserves it miss out.

Where does your Poppy Money go?

WELFARE ORGANISATIONS – We can help your clients!

Have you ever wondered how your fantastic donations are used to help local veterans and their families in your area? Now is the chance to find out.

Please join us for an Awareness Morning, including refreshments and lunch, at the Deganwy Quay, Deganwy on Monday 23rd April 2012 from 10.30am through to lunch where we can tell you more.

Come and hear from those deserving veterans who have been helped, along with stories from our wonderful volunteers and other Royal British Legion colleagues and partnerships.

Come and talk to Legion members, volunteers, fund raisers, staff and beneficiaries, Combat Stress, Poppy Calls, care and repair, amongst others.

Please contact our Wrexham office if you would like to join us at the Deganwy Quay on Monday 23rd April or if you would like to tell your story please contact 01978 312823 or e mail mevans@britishlegion.org.uk or northwales@britishlegion.org.uk

Providing Support for Council Tax in Wales

This consultation seeks views on proposals for introducing new schemes in Wales to provide support for council tax once the current Council Tax Benefit system is abolished by the UK Government on 31 March 2013.

Start of consultation: 06/02/2012

End of consultation: 05/04/2012

In the Spending Review 2010, the UK Government announced that it would localise support for council tax from 2013-14 and reduce expenditure by 10 per cent.

From 31 March 2013 council tax benefit in its current form will come to an end and the provision of support for council tax and the funding associated with it, will be devolved to local authorities in England, to the Scottish Government and to the Welsh Government.

Therefore the Welsh Government must work in conjunction with local government to design and implement a new scheme in sufficient time to provide council tax support for those on low incomes or in vulnerable groups by 1^st April 2013.

This consultation sets out the policy, financial and operational considerations related to providing support for council tax in Wales and expectations about how any new scheme could operate.

The document asks for the views of local authorities, advisory groups, representative bodies, the third sector and others who may be affected by these changes, to help the Welsh Government decide on the policy and delivery options for introducing a new scheme to provide council tax support in Wales.

Your views are welcomed on all aspects of the proposed approach set out in the document, in addition to the specific questions asked.

If you are not currently entitled to council tax benefit, then nothing will change for you. If you do receive council tax benefit, there may be changes which will affect you from April 2013:

• Some changes could affect how you claim support with your council tax bill;
• Some changes could affect how much support you can claim, or whether you receive any support at all, and therefore how much council tax you are expected to pay.

This document is not about how much council tax you should pay.  It is about how a new system should be designed and operated to help those who need support to meet their council tax bill.

How to respond

Please submit your comments by 05 April 2012 in any of the following ways:

Email:

LGF1Consultations@wales.gsi.gov.uk

Post:

Joanna Valentine
Local Government Finance and Public Services Performance Division
Welsh Government
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ

Any response you send us will be seen in full by Welsh Government staff dealing with the issues which this consultation is about. It may also be seen by other Welsh Government staff to help them plan future consultations.

The Welsh Government intends to publish a summary of the responses to this document. We may also publish responses in full. Normally, the name and address (or part of the address) of the person or organisation who sent the response are published with the response. This helps to show that the consultation was carried out properly. If you do not want your name or address published, please tell us this in writing when you send your response.

The People's Budget Workshop - Rhyl

This is a FREE workshop for Voluntary, Community, Resident and Tenant Groups in the Rhyl area on Wednesday 14th March, 12.15pm - 4.00pm (lunch is included at 12.15pm) at The Good News Mission, 75 Marsh Road, Rhyl, LL18 2AB.

Make sure you are part of this energising workshop on getting a much greater say in how public budgets are spent locally. This is the ONLY such workshop in Wales!

There are very few places left - you need to book online NOW to be sure of a place at the workshop.

Reserve your place straight away at www.rhyl.eventbrite.co.uk

The People's Budget is a project funded by the Joseph Rowntree Trust and managed by Church Action on Poverty.

Supported in Wales by the Wales PB Unit.

Hospitality training course

The taster day is on 14^th March and the course will start on the 19^th March. The course will run for two weeks. Anyone who is interested needs to attend the taster day, which will start at 10.00am and take place in the Nova Centre in Prestatyn.

To be eligible for the course they need to be aged 16-25, currently un-employed and live in Denbighshire or Conwy.

They must also fall into one or more of the Prince’s Trust’s target groups:

• Un-employed for six months or more.
• Have a criminal record.
• Be in or leaving care.
• Have less than 5 GCSEs at A*-C grade.

This course will give you three qualifications and work experience. Food will be provided every day and transport costs will be refunded. There are also guaranteed jobs for those who do well (on the last course 8 people were hired!).

This is a fantastic opportunity. If you are at all interested and meet the criteria please contact Vicky Evans on 01745 366680 or by e-mail on vicky.evans@princes-trust.org.uk

Community Events and Marketing Company

Community Events and Market Company Ltd (CEMC) was established to enable local producers and stall holders to sell their produce direct to the public giving consumers the chance to buy fresh, locally grown fruit and vegetables, locally reared meat and home made products alongside fair trade goods, fashion, gifts and household items.

Our wider objectives are job creation, training courses for  local unemployed people and some of our profits will be ring fenced and used to support local charities. We offer support for small business, value for money and increase visitors to your town centre.

For more information please visit their new website:
www.cemc.co.uk

South West Rhyl Communities First - New Partnership Board 2012

Front row (left to right): Moira Lockitt (G2G), Donna Murphy (Marsh Residents Association, Jenny Walker (Rhyl City Strategy).
Second row (left to right): Paula Stubbs (Little Brown Bag), Jim Kilpatrick (DCC Countryside Services), Jeannette Mays (Kids Fun Club), Ray Worsnop (Community Events & Markets Company).
Back row (left to right): Peter Smith (Good News Mission), Les Cooper (WWHA), Jane Allen (Vale Residents Association), Larry Marsden (CAIS), Rick Jones Abbas (DCC Welfare Rights), Paul Smith (Welsh Government).

Will Morecombe (RAPA) and Wynne Randles (RYAG) are also members of the new Partnership Board, but are not present in this photo.